A Freelance Writer's Blog.

Tech Tuesday- You Need an RSS Reader

Over a year ago I wrote a blog post called “Tweet Resistance.” I talked about how people resist new technologies that are totally awesome and how I think that is so crazy! For instance, RSS Feeds and Readers. I set up a Google Reader about two years ago and it has totally changed my Internet life. Check out the following Technical Tuesday post and you might just decide you need a RSS Reader too.

Please read on, it’s like the Beatles, Women’s Rights and skinny jeans: at first, you might be skeptical, but with time, you will absolutely love RSS feeds!

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary. To understand an RSS feed, think of it as TiVo (or a DVR) for your computer. TiVo and DVRs work through your cable television box to record your favorite programs. They recognize when your shows are on and automatically save them so you can watch at your convenience. RSS functions in much the same way. An RSS aggregator (also known as an RSS reader) monitors your favorite websites and blogs for new content and collects the new information for you to view at any time. Rather than having to visit each of your favorite sites to see what’s new, you can visit your RSS reader to see all of the new content from all of your favorite sites. It’s like one-stop shopping. I love it.

In other words: Instead of getting on the Internet and spending 30 minutes going to all of your favorite website to see if there is something new, you go to one place: It’s genius.

2. Set up a connection between your reader and your favorite websites. This is called “subscribing.” Most news sites and blogs allow you to subscribe to their RSS feeds by clicking on one of the following icons that can be found somewhere on the site:

3. When you find one of these buttons on your favorite website or blog, click that button!

4. After you click the RSS button, a page will pop up that allows you to select the button for your appropriate reader. Click the appropriate reader.

If you are using Google, Google will give you an option to add this RSS feed to your Google homepage or your Google Reader. Choose the Google Reader Option.

Some sites make it a little bit harder. My website is an example. When you click on the RSS feed button, my site takes take you to a page filled with HTML code. This will look like computer jibber-jabber.

Attention! Do not freak out and give up. If you can play the original Nintendo Mario Brothers and throw a fireball, you can do this! You won’t have to kill the Dragon and save the Princess, it’s just like grabbing the Flag and going to Level 2.

If a website’s feed link leads you to a page with a ton of HTML, copy the browser’s feed URL (grab the Flag) and add it manually to your Reader. (Go to Level 2.)

Below is my Google Reader home page. Look at the top left for the “Add a Subscription” button. Click on the “Add a Subscription” button. The Reader will prompt you to paste the website’s feed URL into the box provided. You will then name the subscription, (i.e. The Tiger Lilies) and it will be added to your Reader. Done-zo.

It’s pretty simple and I am willing to walk you through it if you need help. Please send me a message on my Contact page. And please don’t resist this new technology. You will be “that guy” who is behind on everything. Much like the guy that used to say, “Email, this will never last!” Get on the RSS train people, or you will be left behind.